Peak vs. Pique

Peak is often incorrectly used in place of pique in the phrases “pique my curiosity” or “pique my interest.” This is probably because the user believes “pique” means to raise to a higher point (which, in a way, it does), and since “peak” falls under that definition, he confuses the two.

Correct: Movies have a tendency to pique my curiosity about subjects I normally wouldn’t have thought about. Incorrect:Movies have a tendency to peak my curiosity about subjects I normally wouldn’t have thought about

Shari On Monday, October 3 at 11:04 am

And hey, don’t forget peaked, as in ‘pee-kid’. Meaning; ailing, indisposed, poorly, sickly, under the weather. My great grandmother used this word all the time when she thought one of us looked or acted ‘pee-kid’. She was a southern gal, and I always thought it was a made up word until I decided to look it up in the dictionary one day.

Angela Kelly On Monday, October 3 at 11:30 am

Rachel On Monday, October 3 at 11:43 am

Lynne Godfrey On Monday, October 3 at 11:45 am

I love this series – I’ve been aggravated for years on the misuse of some of these words. Could you also do: flaunt and flout, taunt and taut, disinterest and uninterest, and bravado as in people who say false bravado when bravado already means false! (My apologies if you’ve already done these – I’m new to the site.)

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White On Monday, October 3 at 11:46 am

Pique is from French meaning to prick, prod, sting, etc.

In conjunction with curiosity, to pique is to awaken.

But then, it can also extend to wounding, hurt, etc., in context with pride, for instance.

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Ginna Sadler On Monday, October 3 at 11:51 am

Ree, have you done lie and lay? I am a college professor and I cringe with the misuse of those two!

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karen at sylvan learning On Monday, October 3 at 12:34 pm

I had to explain the difference between insure, assure, and ensure to a student yesterday at work. That would be a good one for you to tackle.

Nikki H On Monday, October 3 at 5:43 pm

The biggest offense around these parts is that people don’t understand that there is a difference between ‘bring’ and ‘take.’ Would you like to tackle that one sometime?

Texas TwoStepper On Monday, October 3 at 8:36 pm

That was the one discussed previous to this one. For those who are wondering if something has already been covered, look under the Pioneer Woman Homeschooling bar, to the Grammar tab. Hover your mouse over it, and you will see past discussions of Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm.

Stephanie Hobson On Monday, October 3 at 10:23 pm

Yes, this!!!

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Jane B. On Monday, October 3 at 1:18 pm

Thank you, Ree. Do you think you’d consider doing one on “who’s” and “whose?” They drive me nuts when I’m writing!

Simone On Monday, October 3 at 1:35 pm

Ooohh. Can you please do one about the difference between “I” and “me”? I hear it used incorrectly so often I am starting to doubt myself (not a native speaker of English here!).

It is funny to see what native speakers (of any language) struggle with that is completely clear and unambiguous to people who learned that language in school. For instance, a lot of Dutch native speakers have issues with knowing when to end a verb in “d”, “t” or “dt”. It has to be said that you cannot hear the difference when pronouncing said verb, but the rules are really clear… I have been told by non-natives that they really do not see the problem.

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Sheila On Monday, October 3 at 1:50 pm

Something that I’ve seen twice TODAY in my blog reading is the incorrect usage of lose and loose. I think people know how to speak the correct word, but can’t seem to use the proper one when they write. (Scary- I initially started typing ‘right’ rather than ‘write’! )

Shari On Monday, October 3 at 8:47 pm

Very interesting. I also make these kind of mistakes when I type. Obviously we’re using a different part of our brain when we type, or just using our brain in a different way. But hey, at least we’re using our brains, right? : )

Now, if this Ozark Farm Chick doesn’t find those two words quite perplexin’. Let’s see , I climbed to the peak of the tree ’cause the nest of baby birds piqued my curiosity. This Chick became peeked when she couldn’t climb down and had to be rescued from Farm Boy! Heeehehhee! :o)

From the silly hills and hollers of the frosty Missouri Ponderosa, ya’ll have a bright and beautiful fall day now…ya hear??? :o)

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Rachel in NC On Monday, October 3 at 4:49 pm

This is so timely! I was just reading an online news report from a local station in which the reported used “peak” when they should have used “pique.” I cannot believe that a professional reporter would get the two words confused.

Of course, there is also cotton pique, which may or may not have the accent mark on the “e.”

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Katrina On Monday, October 3 at 5:38 pm

I’m not sure this is exactly in the same vein, but I see so many people use “defiantly” when they mean “definitely.” I’m sure they’re just spelling it as they pronounce it (I’ve also seen people use “filling” when they mean “feeling”), but I just can’t take it any more!

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Erin On Monday, October 3 at 6:35 pm

I would give anything if you would address “definitely” and “defiantly”. I see so many bloggers use defiantly when they mean definitely, and it seriously changes the meaning!

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Susan On Monday, October 3 at 7:58 pm

LOVE Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm!

It’s amazing how often I see these words misused. Vice vs. vise is another. Loose vs. lose. Metal vs. medal. Trooper vs. trouper (the very worst misuse I’ve seen was in a book that referred to law enforcement officials as state troupers–egad!). Tow (not toe) the line. The list is endless. I used to get so aggravated when reading books that I’d keep a pencil at the ready to mark errors–just for my own satisfaction (not that I’m anal, or anything). Now that I mostly read ebooks, I’ve learned to just let it pass.

Keep it up, MOS!

Susan On Tuesday, October 4 at 4:18 pm

Oh, and if it hasn’t already been covered–pored vs. poured. I just read in a major newspaper that officials would be pouring over the documents in a case. >headthunk<

Joyce On Wednesday, October 5 at 12:48 pm

I found a great pair (not pare!) in the manual that came with my new car: pedal vs. petal

The dashboard screen has a little flower that will indicate how well you are driving from an ecological sense — you lose one petal of the flower for each over-use of the gas pedal. But of course, when they were referring to the flower picture, they talked about the pedals! Aaaarrgh.

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Stina On Monday, October 3 at 8:14 pm

Does the Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm find it appropriate to end sentences with prepostitions? You’d think she’d know better. (Movies have a tendency to pique my curiosity about subjects I normally wouldn’t have thought about. vs Movies have a tendency to pique my curiosity on subject about which I would not have normally thought. or perhaps Movies have a tendency to pique my interest in subjects that normally do not enter my thoughts.)

I think nauseated/nauseous would be wonderful as I had no idea there was a difference only that nauseated seems to imply that you are a direct object and nauseous sounds like a state of being. Is that correct? I could look it up, but Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm is so much more fun!

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Jiffy On Monday, October 3 at 9:12 pm

If you’re taking requests, I would love to see something on “to” vs “too.”

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Becca On Monday, October 3 at 10:41 pm

Am I the only one who hears those words completely differently in her head? It’s probably just a tone or inflection change, but to me there is no way those two could be confused. They just sound completely different. LOL.

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Karen On Tuesday, October 4 at 12:16 am

Thank-you for this. I was just talking about this very mix-up with a colleague just last week.
A few others I’ve come across recently:

do and due – Due to my bad luck, I was going to have to do(write) the test again.

pedal, peddle and petal – Put the pedal to the metal. The salesman had many wares to peddle. I pulled all the petals off the daisy.

shutter and shudder – I closed the shutters on the window./What shutter speed did you use for that photo? That horrible mix of ingredients makes me shudder.

Oh, I hope some photographers who blog find their way over here. Or, “find there way over hear”, as some of them would write. Bad grammar usage is on the rise, and these folks just say “Well, I take pictures; I don’t write!” If you’re asking clients to come to your site and view their pictures along with a write up on the shoot, then you better learn how. *sigh* Pushing my soapbox back under the bed; thanks, Ree, for doing your part to make the world a better place.

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nathan vandenbroek On Tuesday, October 4 at 7:32 am

Dear MOSM,

Please put to rest the correct pronunciation of ‘forte’, so I too, can sleep at night.

Carol Culpepper Seal On Tuesday, October 4 at 12:26 pm

Please let people know it’s a bee-line, not a V line. Think about it. If it’s a V then you will never get there!
Another one to straughten out is “flustered” and “frustrated.” There is no such word as “flustrated.”

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Lindy On Wednesday, October 5 at 12:04 am

Yea, and then do “sale” and “sell” before I go insane!

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Charla On Wednesday, October 5 at 10:11 am

This one is definitely one I see often!

How about “every day” versus “everyday”?? I’m worried that the two words are becoming one everywhere, but I refuse to just sit down and take it!!

This is great, lol! I know I make my fair share of mistakes, but I too feel like an officer of the grammar/spelling police occasionally. I think I am going to take all of the suggestions here, and in previous Mean Ol’ Schoolmarm posts, and plug them into my oldest son’s spelling program (SpellingCity) so he has a list of confusing and often misused words that he can work on!

Katie
A firm believer in that almost any homeschool subject can be made more interesting with a wall map and a good crossword puzzle

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Cynthia On Thursday, October 13 at 11:51 am

My biggest gripe is when newscasters use the incorrect case (objective/subjective) of pronouns. John is going with Jack and I to the movie–should be, John is going with Jack and me to the movie. A lot of lyricists also use this incorrectly which really rubs me the wrong way!